Guts

Another suprise from little old me....TUESDAY!


Wahoo!! So, a switcheroo for you all. My preparation day is now on Tuesdays, not Wednesdays. I have a new assignment--different than the one I thought. So, you'll be hearing from me a day earlier than you had all supposed. I hope you wrote this all in your planners in pencil.... :)

So much has happened this week!!! I was graced with the beauty of Paige and Andie Knudsen earlier this week. Gems. Love them. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAIGE!!!!! Here is digital "Icing on the Cake" cake for you. :) Yum..... It was so wonderful to see you both! You both are rock star women. Thank you for the surprise joy to my week. :)

And Montie and Margaret! What a beautiful treat. Thank you!!! I loved the oppourtunity I had to share more about the history of Temple Square with you. I'm sure you're still road tripping...so I hope you're having fun! And thank you for all the goodies. I am really spoiled to have you both in my life. Thank you!

Brettly and Nicole. You two...loves. I hope the cows are doing alright. Brett, you are the boss. :) Sister, I met one of your students last night. It was awesome. She said she was from Alpine and I just HAD to ask if she went to your middle school. Yep. And go figure, you're one of her favorite teachers. No big deal. You go girl!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Also, this is for everyone I suppose....we no longer allow scheduled tours with specific sister missionaries at Temple Square. It's become a security issue, and a hassle too. With over 5 million visitors a year, I understand. :) I hope you all do too. Sorry for the inconvenience.

So....4 fantastic stories for the week:


1) Between Sister Kemsley and I, we can speak 4 languages. We both speak english and spanish (me...not so much...). I can speak some Danish, and she's all over Arabic. WOW. I wonder what would happen if we were sleep talking to each other....

2) Annamarie. We met this incredible woman. She was kind of wandering around Temple Sqaure. Typical person here. Sauntering, taking pictures. Smiles and nods. We started talking to her. She said she was in town for work. Super tired too. She had gotten up at 3:00am to make her flight out to Salt Lake from the east coast. Sister Kemsley and I decided to show her a beautiful view of the Temple. The three of us just sat on the grass and talked for about 45 minutes. It was so refreshing. Raw. And refreshing. She is having problems with her husband. With two small children, she is struggling and looking for help from him, but not finding it. She feels alone while trying her best. After sharing my background, I said, "Welp. There you have it. You've got my guts. That's me. 100%". As if she was finally allowed to exhale, she said, "well, since you've shared your guts, I'll share mine". Sister Kemsley and I were then able to share with Annamarie some of the beautiful promises God makes with us through the temple. Temples can strengthen our individual relationship with God just as much as temples can strengthen our families. I loved being with her. We needed her. She needed us. Edification. Hope. Love. All of that happened on the grass, on a beautiful September day, just beneath the Salt Lake Temple.

3) I taught a sister missionary from Taiwan about the words, "chillin' " and "peeps" after we passed one of our guests. The guest was wearing a shirt that said, "Chillin' with my peeps"--which included a picture of a marshmellow Peep. Subsequently, I attempted to explain what marshmellow "Peeps" are. The joys of serving with over 180 sister missionaries from over 50 countries speaking over 40 languages!! :) I love it!!

4) I have talked to about 10 Danes this week. MIRACLES. How often do people just bump into people from Denmark...in Salt Lake? No accidents.

I hope you're all doing well!! Love you all!!

Get excited for general conference!!

And...check out . GOOD stuff.

Cheers!
Seeeester Amarooooooooo

Wacky Wednesday

People people people......

IT'S WEDNESDAY!! Hooray for the middle of the week. Wednesday is my new Preparation Day for the next 6 weeks. So, I will be e-mailing out on Wednesday. Whew! I am tiiiirreeedd... my body hates me. But, my calves love me. We are on our feet from 9am-9pm. And it's good. Real good.

Sister Montano finished her 18 months today!! She hopped on a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Love Sister Montano. She really has been such an angel in my life. Empanadas, smores, "too cool for school"....soooo good. Right before she left, we had a lot of really wonderful experiences.

There were so many people who came into Temple Square last week visiting with a conference called 4Life. I'm not sure what the company is entirely about, but I do know that the 4Life people who came through were so incredible. They were so respectful and open-minded to learning. We met people from all over the world who asked to learn more back in their hometowns in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Argentina from missionaries just like me.

AND!!! Last week was the Salt Lake City GREEK FESTIVAL!!!!! I LOVE GREEK FESTIVALS!!! I don't know why, but I am obsessed with Greek festivals and have been for a few years. We drove by it on the way to Welfare Square last week and I about died. Opa!!

Sister Kemsley is my new companion! I will be working with her for at least the next 6 weeks (you can see her blog for yourself: www.imthefourth.blogspot.com) We are in for some fascinating stories with Sister Kemsley, my friends. She is from Connecticut. Fabulous. Sassy. Short hair. Scarves. Mutual friends: Paige Knudsen & Rachael Holland.

On another, more pessimistic note---I loathe moving. I really do. Perhaps that's one of the lessons I am supposed to learn while serving a mission. I'm grateful for the time that we get to re-cooperate. Hooray for fresh starts. Hooray for the time we all get in life to breathe as we turn the pages in our life...even if it's only one breath. Thank goodness for that wonderful, refreshing breath!!

Some gratitude for the week:
Thank you to all of you Grandmas and Grandpas from all over the world who keep me filled with uplifting motivation and love!!
Thank you to cousins and friends who keep me updated and HAPPY!!! :) I love you Krista, Lashelle, David and The Woodlands!! :)

Until next week....

Here's a challenge...if you feel so sassy to accept--
Sometime this week, get to know a stranger in less than 2 minutes. (I attempt to do this every day all day. And it's fun!!). You know find out what they like to do and where they are from. It's simple. But it takes courage. Then, leave them feeling a little bit more listened to and loved than when you first met them. Try it. I dare you.

~Take care~xoxoxo~
Sister Famous Amous Cookies.

I love Baptist and Jewish people

Hello Dolly!!

It's been a wonderful week. My companion, Sister Montano, is going back to Argentina this week. She has finished her 18 months here in Salt Lake City. I love her! She has taught me so much. She is so patient and just loves every person that comes into Temple Square.

This upcoming week, we should be having some changes. For my mission, my time is divided into whats called a "transfer". There are 12 transfers on my mission (every 6 weeks= one transfer). As of Wednesday, I will be entering my 2nd transfer.

With each new transfer, we could be getting a new companion, a new assignment and even a new apartment. So, next week brings with it a sense of FRESH! :)

Here are some of the memorable things that happened this week:

--We met this woman who volunteers with the Red Cross (she was such a LOVE!!). She said, "Oh! We like you Mormons. You're always so ready and organized when we need help with disaster relief. But don't get me wrong. We love those Southern Baptists too. They sure know how to cook some good food!!" :) I love the Baptists too my friends.....love the Baptists.

--We met some fabulous Jewish people this week. I loved them!! We shared with them some of the history about the early members of the church and how they moved from the East Coast to Utah. The reason why they moved was due to religious persecution. The woman we were with just nodded her head and sighed, "join the club".

--Sister Montano and I did a little math...Sister missionaries at Temple Square get to meet so many people. We invite people to learn more about things like the Book of Mormon, temples, prophets or Jesus Christ from missionaries back in their areas (anywhere in the world). In 6 weeks, each companionship will usually be a part of about 50 people or so saying that they are interested in learning more.

--Yesterday, a woman asked me about the Book of Mormon. She said, "Now tell me, do you really think that all of those stories in the Book of Mormon--you know about wars and things from hundreds of years ago--are useful to you?" Well everyone, my answer is "absolutely". We can ALWAYS learn from the past. The accounts of people in the Book of Mormon help me manage the battles and wars that may be in MY life. I deal with different battles--how to spend my money (and save it too), where to go to school when I am finished with my mission, how I will spend my time...SO many different things boggle my mind. Choices. And at the same time, I can read about how people in the Book of Mormon made choices too. The tread is how those people and people in 2010 can make choices with their values as the foundation and motivation of their choices. Although my choices are different than people in 600 BC- 400 AD, I can still let my heart and my Heavenly Father guide my choices. Just like they did. Beautiful! It's still applicable today!! The Book of Mormon is such a wonderful tool in my life. I love it.

--Shamelessly, I grinned from ear to ear this week as I heard the one and only Miss Miley Cyrus come on the radio at the food court. Gotta love her.

Thank you all for another week of updates with those beautiful letters and e-mails. I love hearing about how you are all doing!

Thank you Margaret, Grandma & Grandpa, Bishop Knudsen, Sister Woodland, Bishop McAdam and everyone else for all of your sweet words and uplifting stories! I really appreciate you all!!

I hope you're all doing well!! Until next week.....go out there and be happy people-- it's a choice.

Love,
Sister Amy

"All that and a bag of chips"

This is Amy with Carlee Rodriguez who entered the Missionary Training Center last Wednesday, she will be serving her mission in the Washington State Spanish Speaking Mission. Carlee and Amy used to play Volleyball together, Carlee's mom Sheila was the coach :)




It's been another exciting week here in Salt Lake City. I've been lucky enough to meet more people from the Bay Area, Denmark and even some unconventional places like Prague and Pittsburg......

Today's e-mail is 3-fold.
1) ~Shout Outs~ (It seems like this title has caught on in my brain...and I think I'll keep it)
2) Catch phrases (from California to Argentina)
3) Love love love

1) ~Shout Outs~
First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY MEREDITH!!!! YAY!!!!!! I know that the river that runs between our distant hearts is full of vegan birthday cake. : ) Yum!!!! And we can eat it with all of the Res Life silverware we can scrap from programs! I love you!! I wear my club t-shirt ALL the time when I am working out. I get lots of questions about it, "Oh, what club is that? An environmental activism club heh? That sounds really amazing!" ME: IT IS!!! (and so is my fabulous friend who --no big deal-- piloted this program) I love you Ems! I am so proud of you and I think of you often!! I will hopefully be sending you a lovely hand written note of love sooooonnnn... Until then... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you have a FUN week!! :) I think of you ALL THE TIME!! LOVE YOU!!!
---Tiffany: Tiffany Call. My heart is heavy for you. I am thinking about you Tiff. You know I am. Thank you for your e-mails. You'll be hearing from me soon, via letter. Don't forget to write those tender mercies down. I love you.
---Mom, Dad, Nicole and Brett: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I got that wonderful box. And it was perfect timing. Utah weather is bizarro. The day the box came was the first really cold moment...perfect weather for a jacket. :) Tender mercies! And thank you for the incredible letters this week. I loved hearing about Donna, Dewey and all the sorts. :) love you all!
---Lisa: You are such a LOVE!!! I really appreciated your floor plan/ diagram. Wonderful. Loved it. You are quite the artist. You have a wonderful way of capturing the real vision. I can just see you and Muong prancing about. :) I love you so much Lisa Loo. I'll be writing you back sooooonnnn.... :)
---Paige: PAIGE!! Thanks for all the updates!! I am so excited that you and Steph are living together!! FUN!!! I can only imagine what that will be like.
---Chelsea: Meatloaf vs. Fishsticks....oh the flurries of living with grandchildren. You are so hilarious!!! I
---Vans: I love you! Got your fabulous letter! Since when did we have a Danish professor at Sonoma!??!?!?! Hooray!! No wonder we love SSU so much!! Tell him about "hygge". You'll get an A. :) Love you Vans. I miss your guts. Thanks for the love Lady!!
---Grandma and Grandpa Davis: Thank you so so much for all of the sweet letters!! I love them! They always make my day. To answer your question (re: letters vs. e-mails)...I love them both. At the same time, I often have a little more time to read letters (as my e-mail time is short). But I always read them all!! :) I love you both so much. I hope you are doing well!! The gardens here at Temple Square remind me of your gorgeous yard!
---Maire: Don't think that I have forgotten you or your terrible experiences with Dr. 90210 from UCLA. I am going to write you back soon. I hope you are doing all right!! I have been thinking about you all week friend!! I wish I could be there and give you some Matilde and a Res Life sized "get-well" poster. Love you Princess Maiiireeeeee....
---The Woodlands: Thank you so much for thinking of little old me! :) I get so excited to see your thoughtful cards in the mail. THANK YOU!! :)

2) Catch phrases (from California to Argentina)
Here are some of the catch phrases I found myself saying this week, then needing to explain their meaning to my companion from Argentina:... (so funny).
-"Too cool for school"
-"Move it or lose it"
-"All that and a bag of chips"
-"The bomb"


3) Love love love
Thank you all so much for thinking about me. It's really wonderful here. I am meeting people from all over the world. Something that everyone notices when they come to Temple Square is how beautiful it is here. Most of the time, people really notice the beautiful gardens and how peaceful it is. Today, we met 4 people from Pennsylvania. They were football fans, librarians, friends, catholics, and overall, wonderful. It was so wonderful talking with them. They were so refreshing to talk with them. They were so respectful and genuinely kind people. I love meeting new people!! All day!! They recognized how they felt here. And I love that.

Feelings often speak louder than words ever can.

So wonderful.

I love you all!!!

Until next week,
Sister Amy